Arsenal v Tottenham

Commentary By: Andy Hogg

FINAL SCORE: 2 - 0

Thanks for tuning in, and why not join us later on this afternoon as former FIFA Assistant Referee Guy Beale passes his expert eye over the game at Old Trafford, KO 5.30pm UK time.

Full Time

AH at 2017-11-18 15:30:30

In summary:

In the high-profile world of the Premier League, those watching will be, quite rightly, critical of Mike Dean’s decision to award a free-kick to Arsenal in the build up to the first goal, and also that Mustafi should have been given offside prior to heading home. 2 minutes of madness amongst 88 minutes of sound and solid refereeing.

In the interests of balance, there was much to admire about Mike Dean’s refereeing – the ability to ‘forget’ about the error and ‘move on’ being a key feature.

The referee’s timing and consistency of his cautions was also noteworthy.

In summary, this was a classic case of one team (Arsenal) being on the right end of 2 poor decisions, which undoubtedly affected the result of the game.

Full Time

AH at 2017-11-18 15:22:31

Arsenal take all 3 points – summary to follow shortly ………

90

AH at 2017-11-18 15:19:08

4 additional minutes to be played ……

87

AH at 2017-11-18 15:16:15

3 minutes, plus any additional time, for Mike Dean to retain control, he has used his cautions well in order to keep the players in check.

83

AH at 2017-11-18 15:13:26

More ‘time consuming’ tactics as Arsenal are looking to make substitutions. Ozil makes the slowest walk in the world, stopping to shake hands with the world and read a paper before reaching the touchline via Wandsworth and Tooting !

81

AH at 2017-11-18 15:08:08

#AFCvTHFC Our second RefCam game of the day sees the red half of Manchester take on Newcastle United at Old Trafford, with expert comments from former FIFA Assistant Referee Guy Beale, KO 5.30pm UK time. Why not tune in later / stay tuned here at RefCam to take in both games.

78

AH at 2017-11-18 15:05:39

A Tottenham goal at this stage would make for a very interesting final 10 minute or so ………….

72

AH at 2017-11-18 15:03:37

Good refereeing once again by Mike Dean as he firstly allows play to continue and then returns to the offence to correctly caution Monreal

70

AH at 2017-11-18 15:01:01

20 minutes to go here at the Emirates, are we going to see the Home Team starting to consume time? There is a fine line between ‘time consuming’ and ‘time wasting’, I envisage that Arsene Wenger’s team will be good at both !!!

68

AH at 2017-11-18 14:57:19

#AFCvTHFC with the next goal being key to the outcome of the game, the refereeing team cannot afford to make any more errors – fairnes they have had a good second-half so far

65

AH at 2017-11-18 14:53:34

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60

AH at 2017-11-18 14:50:07

#AFCvTHFC 30 minutes to go and I would expect Tottenham to push forward in an attempt to get back into the game, something for the refereeing team to be aware of as the game opens up in the final stages.

56

AH at 2017-11-18 14:47:27

#AFCvTHFC The referee does not appear to have let the first half ‘questionable’ decisions cloud his judgement so far in the 2nd half – Mike Dean’s experience is showing here as he remains confident in his own ability as a referee.

50

AH at 2017-11-18 14:44:33

Harry Kane is the next entry in Mike Dean’s book for his reckless challenge, but the referee chose to put additional pressure on Assistant Ian Hussin by clearly seeking his opinion – nothing wrong with that in most circumstances of course, but (a) the referee could and should have made the decision himself and (b) will such strong questioning put further pressure on the Assistant who may be lacking confidence following the incorrect decision for the first goal.

47

AH at 2017-11-18 14:39:16

Mustafi is he first caution of the second half, Mike Dean showing early intent and has abandoned his low level of tolerance, correctly so in my opinion.

46

AH at 2017-11-18 14:36:29

#AFCvTHFC Kevin Friend and Mauricio Pochettino in deep discussion prior to the start of the 2nd half, I hazard a guess that it’s not about Christmas dinner plans of the latest Game of Thrones box-set !!!!

#AFCvTHFC 2nd debating point – both Arsenal goals were close calls for Assistant Referee Ian Hussin – he has the first one wrong and the second one right – sorry, 50% not good enough at any level, especially at Premier League level!

Half Time

AH at 2017-11-18 14:23:08

#AFCvTHFC First half-time debating point here at You Are The Ref Towers, were Tottenham unlucky to concede the free-kick in the immediate lead-up to the first goal. Undoubtedly yes, the challenge on Sanchez was fair, no offence.

Half Time

AH at 2017-11-18 14:18:04

Time to breathe for 15 minutes – that was an action packed last 15 minutes with plenty to talk about – comments to follow ….

41

AH at 2017-11-18 14:14:10

Sanchez shows the strikers predatory skills to fire home from close range – Ian Hussin may have got the offside call wrong for the 1st goal, but he was correct for the 2nd one – it’s all happening here in North London

38

AH at 2017-11-18 14:11:22

Sanchez joins Xhaka in the book, the game has gone up a notch, the refereeing team needs to keep focussed.

36

AH at 2017-11-18 14:09:01

Mustafi opens the scoring – but we need to ask, was the goalscorer offside – we welcome you views here @youaretheref

32

AH at 2017-11-18 14:04:18

no 2nd chances for Xhaka and Mike Dean, using his excellent communication skills, makes it clear to all assembled that the Arsenal player is being cautioned for persistent infringement.

28

AH at 2017-11-18 14:00:03

#AFCvTHFC Refereeing at this level is a game of “risk and reward”, has the referee risked his match control by not cautioning Xhaka, hoping to get the reward of retaining match control with minimal formal sanctions. If anyone can ‘sell’ this with his player communication, then Mike Dean can. What are your thoughts on this – let us know by tweeting us @youaretheref.

23

AH at 2017-11-18 13:56:39

#AFCvTHFC Xhaka commits a cynicial challenge on Sissoko and is fortunate not to receive a yellow card – Mike Dean is clearly trying to manage the game – but will his tolerance back-fire on him ?

20

AH at 2017-11-18 13:51:44

For those of you who referee in 10-minute sectors, that’s the first 2 stages on the game completed.

18

AH at 2017-11-18 13:49:44

#AFCvTHGC. Mike Dean in typically outstretched arms pose in the centre-circle, wonder what that was about?

I hope that this is not me tempting fate, but I can’t see this ending up as 0-0 !!!

12

AH at 2017-11-18 13:45:00

It’s still a hustle and bustle of a game, much as we would have expected from the North London derby, important the match officials stay focussed.

7

AH at 2017-11-18 13:41:29

Ozil penalises Vertonghen as the Home Team look to develop a promising attack – the correct decision in my eyes as this is ‘safe refereeing’ – had play been allowed to continue and Ozil scored, that would have been an unwanted talking point so early in the game.

6

AH at 2017-11-18 13:38:24

#AFCvTHFC – the game is stopped and restarted because the ball has not gone out of the penalty area at a goal-kick. That really frustrates me – time for a law change IFAB?

4

AH at 2017-11-18 13:36:02

4 minutes gone and the game has not really ‘settled’, no discernible patterns to the play as Lacazette shoots over from inside the penalty area

1

AH at 2017-11-18 13:32:03

Good early alertness by Ian Hussin as Harry Kane is caught offside in the first few seconds of the game

1

AH at 2017-11-18 13:30:43

Here we go – good luck to the 3rd team on the field

Pre-Match

AH at 2017-11-18 13:27:13

The experienced Mike Dean heads the refereeing team today, with Ian Hussin and Marc Perry as his wingmen. Kevin Friend is the 4th official, and he has the dubious honor of undertaking this role twice over the weekend. You can draw your own conclusions from this, but in terms of providing a referee who is perhaps not in the best form a vote of no-confidence, then this is not the best piece of man-management by the PGMO.

Pre-Match

AH at 2017-11-18 13:21:39

On Monday, why not check out next week’s The Ref Show with Alan Biggs for our weekend review, and academy members will get exclusive access to Ref Show Extra which is a more in-depth look at key match incidents from the weekend action. Sign up at academy.you-are-the-ref.com

Pre-Match

AH at 2017-11-18 13:20:15

Plenty of ‘trash-talk’ and ‘words of wisdom’ on Social Media between fans and the football loving fans in genera, I reckon we are in for a cracking game – stay tuned and enjoy the game with us

Pre-Match

AH at 2017-11-18 13:15:06

#AFCvTHFC Good afternoon to our UK viewers, good morning to our USA viewers, welcome to the Emirates stadium for our coverage of Arsenal v Tottenham – this is one for the purist as it is always a pleasure to watch the Premier League’s top games. The added factor of a local derby adds some extra spice to proceedings.